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Hi Dennis and Patsy Mahaffey,
You can email me at ginnee@gmail.com I live in Esperanza de Cartago de La Suiza de Turrialba de Cartago. I would love to connect with you.
Ginnee
Ginnee y Felipe Hancock
Finca Quijote de Esperanza, SA
Costa Rica
http://www.costaricamountain.blogspot.comGinnee—
“Culturally, Costa Ricans have split up the farm amongst the male children, the girls were forced to go find a husband. The farm has now been split up so many times that the pie can not again be split, handed down, and support those families. What is a parent to do? Many are looking for the foreign dollar to buy them out.”
What does the future to hold for these families once they sell off the family farm. I have heard first hand accounts of families selling off the family farm, moving into town only to be left with nothing after the money runs out. Does one dare mention…”birth control” in a hugely Catholic country?
There is no fast answer, and the best answer to economic problems is education.
A Tico friend who was a rural farmer , as were generations of his family before him, wanted to sell the farm and thought that owning a store in town would:
1. provide his children the chance to go to school past 6th grade.
2. relieve him of the duty to divide his farm yet again knowing that his children could not make a living on such a small piece.
The only hope that I saw for them was to give the children an education, and launch them into this world prepared to hold the job they desire. It is time to forget the old ways, the archaic cultural history that no longer works or makes sense in 2008. Let the parents keep their farm, and launch the children into new careers.
This is why you must invest your time and money into the education of poor rural children. This will allow them to have hope for a future that will help Costa Rica prosper. Their government and the Ministry of Education has failed them. The more rural the children, the sadder their education. Many can not read, comprehend or write, when in the 6th grade.
They have a dream, they all want to be somebody as children, an engineer, a doctor, an abagado, but as the years go by, and they can only look at the pictures in the books, their reality sets in. Young girls realize their only hope is to get pregnant and hope the boy will marry her. Usually by her 3rd child, she will find a man to marry her. It takes a while to find a decent man these days.
The Catholic church: I was raised catholic, but it was not for me. And the Catholic church does nothing for the people of Costa Rica. The visiting priest serves 13 little rural churches in our area. (I am only speaking of my area, as I know nothing of yours.) The priest holds service one night a month at each church, collects his money and leaves. I attend the monthly service in addition to the Voz Que Clama’s Mission service every Sunday. By comparison, there is none. At Catholic church, the priest holds service says a few niceties, passes the basket and good bye. He never talks about issues, fidelity, extramarital affairs and having babies while married to another; Big problems in Costa Rica.
What about STD’s and AID’s? Ojala, let’s not even go there. God forbid we discuss some of the realities who’s ugly heads are popping up, but nobody at the Catholic Church wants to talk about it. Ignorance is bliss in the eyes of the church. Birth control, not macho, no condom on that out of control head.
For those who worry that the money they earned in their successful careers in the US or elsewhere will poison Costa Rican workers should they leave a tip, or buy a child a pencil or shoes. Hog wash!!! All parents world wide want success and a full tummy for their children. Why is that only important for your children? You had an education and opportunity, they deserve no less. It is our turn to give back, yours and mine. Remember to give with an open joyful heart, you will receive far more than you give.
Ginnee
Ginnee y Felipe Hancock
Finca Quijote de Esperanza, SA
Costa Rica
http://www.costaricamountain.blogspot.com“The farm has now been split up so many times that the pie can not again be split, handed down, and support those families.”
This is actually happening all over the world. If you read articles about Haiti, Africa and India the stories are all the same. It’s called “overpopulation” and the sooner we all accept it and start to do something about it (self control, birth control, education!) the problem will only get worse.
“This is why you must invest your time and money into the education of poor rural children. This will allow them to have hope for a future that will help Costa Rica prosper.”
Makes perfect sense. And what a noble way to spend one’s time.
“The farm has now been split up so many times that the pie can not again be split, handed down, and support those families.”
This is actually happening all over the world. If you read articles about Haiti, Africa and India the stories are all the same. “
You can add England, USA, Canada and others to your list. Many of us came from farming families where one child now owns that farm and the rest of the children moved on to something else. Or else the land was sold and none of them are farming anymore. That’s the nature of agriculture all over the world.
Alberto
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